


Special Assignment

by DirgeOfCerberus111



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Despite also having a nose gem, Gemcrust, I just felt kinda inspired to make something out of their stuff, Inspired by Fanart, Short Story, These are their characters, This is not the same Jasper from the show, This is the first SU fic i've written that's not a AU, had their permission of course
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-13
Updated: 2019-04-13
Packaged: 2020-01-12 14:09:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18448163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DirgeOfCerberus111/pseuds/DirgeOfCerberus111
Summary: Jasper Facet-5A5V Cut-1AX has been given a very special assignment. To investigate the silence of a Gem expedition on the planet Achernar. Should be simple right?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gemcrust](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Gemcrust).
  * Inspired by [this](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/472244) by Gemcrust. 



> So this is a short fic that I started about two years ago. It's based off of one of Gemcrust's art pieces. I just got inspired and started to make this.
> 
> I tried to crank this out quickly but I kept getting bogged down in trying to keep up with canon. Was hard to figure out how to name anything, when one planet is called Upsilon 9, another is Klavius 7, and then there's Earth. Not to mention the more we learned about Homeworld society, the more different it became from what I had written. So it was basically on hold until canon finally settled down. Anywho, finally was able to finish the first two parts of this.

“Jasper Facet-5A5V Cut-1AX, report to the nearest communications terminal for assignment.”

Jasper-1AX looked up from what she was doing in mild surprise. Huh, odd. Normally missions were given out as a group. She wasn’t used to be being addressed individually like this. 

She was a very light colored Jasper, pale orange in color with her left arm completely red, a another blotch around her right eye, and a gemstone where her nose would be.

The Jasper walked over to the communications console indicated to her. Alone in the room, she tapped a flashing icon and without warning or ceremony it lit up, and 1AX found herself looking at the gigantic, overbearing image of Yellow Diamond, reclined in her Control Room reading over reports. 

Whatever words she had planned died in her throat. She had been expecting an Agate or overseer, not the commander and chief of Homeworld’s Military! 

Her startlement passed as reflex took over and she snapped to attention to salute her Diamond. “Jasper Facet-5A5V Cut-1AX, reporting!” Jasper kept her eyes straight. “...You summoned me, my Diamond?” she added.

“Yes. 1AX, I have a special assignment for you.” The Gem Matriarch cut to the chase without looking up. She tapped a few keys on her console and brought up a holographic display of a planet that Jasper did not recognize. “We recently lost contact with the members of the  Achernar  Mission,” she said gesturing to the planet. “Twenty rotations ago I sent an expedition to the Concretion System Planet  Achernar to evaluate its viability as a Gem colony. A valuable Sapphire and a scouting team were sent. But we have since stopped receiving reports from them.” She turned to face the Jasper and pointed a finger at her. “I want  _ you  _ to investigate what happened, and if necessary, retrieve them.”

“Yes, my Diamond,” Jasper answered obediently, not daring to say anything less. But her head still buzzed with questions. 

“I want this done quickly and discreetly,” she told her. “I don’t need any kind of embarrassment. I’m assigning you, 1AX, because your profile and service record shows that you’d be liable to be more... _ delicate _ , with fragile Gems.” Yellow Diamond let the words hang there for a moment to let their weight sink in for the Quartz. “I  _ trust  _ that I don’t need to explain the Sapphire’s value and the importance of recovering her unharmed if something has happened.”

“No, my Diamond. It will be done,” Jasper said bowing her head.

“Good, your ship is waiting for you at Hyaline in Docking Bay 1422,” she said turning back to her work. “Single occupant.”

“What about the rest of my unit?” 1AX blurted out without thinking, looking up now. Quartzes were usually much more inclined towards group oriented tasks. She had had assignments alone before but not like this, sent on a solitaire mission far away from backup.

“We can’t spare any more resources at the moment,” The Diamond brushed her remark aside with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Besides, they have their own mission. Your commander has already been informed of your reassignment. Now get going!” Her tone brooked no further discussion and she didn’t spare a further glance.

“At once!”

The screen turned off and with nothing else left to say, Jasper-1AX marched from the room and vanished on the Warp pad in a beam of light.

When it passed, Jasper stepped off the Warp Pad, now in a completely different part of Homeworld, and kept moving down the iridescent corridors at a brisk pace towards her destination. Without a functioning Galaxy Warp she would have to get to  Achernar the long way. That meant space travel. She walked until the corridor ended at a massive opening that gave way to a breathtaking view of the Hyaline Space Port.

Hyaline Port was a iridescent hexagonal, multi-level hive of transportation that reached upwards into Homeworld’s skies. Level after level of landing zones were stacked on top of each other, one after the other, and host to more ships of all shapes and sizes than Jasper could count. At the very top, the highest-tier docking levels were reserved for only the highest-ranking and aristocratic Gems. Command ships, diplomatic shuttles, and the upper elite’s pleasure craft all made berth there. Lower-strata craft such as regular transports, passenger ships, star skiffs, and cargo haulers could dock in the larger landing bays on the lower tiers.

Within the port, the docks were crowded with Gems as Jasper made her way through the masses. The walls of Hyaline opened up like wings to encompass, almost embrace, a fantastic view of Gem cityscapes and skyline. Around her, she saw Gems of all cuts and carats going about their daily business. At each active berth, huge load lifting Bull Quartz were assisting with the onloading or offloading each ship’s cargo, while their Agate overseers saw to it that they handled their packages properly. Jasper watched as one vessel settle down and a team of Peridots attended to its maintenance, chattering amongst themselves in morose and nasaly tones as they reviewed data that flowed on their holo-screens. At the same time, the ship’s crew of Nephrite pilots disembarked from their vessel. Jasper continued walking and a high-ranking Azurite passed by her without a glance, flanked by two large Topaz bodyguards, and followed closely behind by her Pearl and entourage of attendants. 

In the distance Jasper could see a battalion of Quartz and Rubies loading onto a troop transport. She didn’t know where they were being sent to, but Jasper wished she was with her platoon now. Bumblebee would certainly be making a reassuring joke about how the mission would go, then Carnelian could gripe about one thing or another, everyone would get a chuckle out of that before Commander Black Jasper would shut their chatter down until they were aboard their ship. Then, once no one was looking,  _ she’d _ be the one to make the first quip. Jasper-1AX sighed. She wished she was with them right now, but that was going to have to wait.

“1439…1440…1441…Aha!” Docking Bay 1442. Sure enough, Jasper’s ship was prepped and waiting for her. An E2-L1 class star cutter was moored at its berth. Unlike a full sized E2-H7 Warship, which could transport an entire company of Quartz soldiers to their destination, an E2-L1 cutter was a single-seated craft, made for one occupant. It was a small, teardrop shaped vessel, fast and maneuverable, designed for quick personal transportation, and the smallest Gem ship equipped with a Gravity Engine.

She hopped into the cockpit of the cutter and began getting a feel for the holographic interface controls while the ship began powering up. Systems diagnostic showed clear, the controls felt good. She was ready. “Hyaline Flight Control, this is Jasper Facet-5A5V Cut-1AX, requesting clearance to launch.” Jasper waited while they verified their flight registry, ensuring her identity and authorization to use the craft were both genuine.

A clear voice rang out over the comm. “Affirmative Jasper-1AX, you are clear to takeoff. Do not deviate from your designated flightpath and have a safe trip.”

“Affirmative, Flight Control. Taking her out now,” Jasper replied as she pulled on the craft’s holographic controls and the ship began turning from its berth. Following the guidance pathlines that lit up the cockpit screen, Jasper pushed on the acceleration and made her way into space. Locking in  Achernar‘s  preprogrammed coordinates, Jasper engaged the Gravity Engine. A black vortex-like singularity manifested in the front of the small ship. Its gravity-well compressed the space in front of it and pulled the ship ahead, in nanoseconds accelerating it to speeds faster than light, and whisking Jasper-1AX away across the stars.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Jasper’s ship arrived in the Concretion System. Once its navigation systems registered that it was arriving, the Gravity Engine shut off and the propulsion-singularity dissipated, returning the ship to normal speed. The tiny ship slid smoothly from moving faster than light to a full stop without so much as a jolt, and Jasper looked out the cockpit to get a good view at the planet.

Below her was Achernar. From space, the planet was an utterly featureless ball of dust. There was no moon orbiting it and the entire surface of the planet was almost barren, uniformly bright and the color of sand. With no moons, particular land masses, or significant rock formations to speak of, the only features worth noticing were the large dust storms that drifted slowly across the planet’s surface.

1AX reread the mission dossier for anymore information about the planet below. She flicked through the holo-plate. Nope, nothing. The planet was designated Achernar. A small expedition was sent; a Sapphire, seventeen Ruby escorts, a Nephrite, and a team of Kindergartners, to evaluate if the planet was viable for supporting a Gem colony. Any other information outside of that was classified to her as it did not pertain to her assignment. 1AX looked out the cockpit at the planet again. What an utterly blank looking world. Why would anyone think it could support a Kindergarten? Ah well, that wasn’t her job, and just guessing about it would get her nowhere. She had a job to do.

The Quartz activated the E2-L1’s Gem Scanner and began looking for any signs of Gem activity on Achernar. She frowned as atmospheric disturbances prevented the scanners getting any sort of decent readings. If scans were being blocked then communications on the ground probably were too, which could explain their silence. But it also meant she’d have to go down there and look for them herself. With a growl of irritation, Jasper prepared to bring her ship down to the planet’s surface.

She set her ship down on a tall dune and hopped out to survey her surroundings. Around her was a veritable sea of sand. To its credit, Achernar wasn’t quite as empty as it had looked from space. In the distance, she could see some rock formations and mesas. 1AX set her hands on her hips as she looked in the direction of the expedition’s last known location. The expedition’s base camp wasn’t far from here, but she didn’t want to rush in. Not yet. Maybe there was no reason to assume there was trouble, but 1AX had always been the cautious one of her unit. She didn’t know what she was dealing with and wanted to be sure that there wasn’t any sort of hazard that had caused the expedition’s silence. A little reconnaissance never hurt anyone.

Jasper scoped out the area around her, looking and listening for signs of movement, or native predators. Nothing. She looked up, sky was pretty clear as well, relatively speaking.

She set out at a methodical pace. But the silence quickly became tedious. Not like there was anything interesting to look at either. Unless you considered sand interesting. Then this place would be _fascinating_. Stars this was boring, Jasper really wished Yellow Diamond could have spared another member of her unit. She really didn’t like this solitaire business.

“Hey TZ,“ 1AX asked the open air. “What do you think about all this?”

“Geez, I dunno. Sounds like a dumb communications problem,” the Jasper answered herself in mimicry of her comrade’s grouchy sarcastic voice. “Some sand must have clogged up the equipment and the cruddy Peridots are still just trying to scrub it out.” Carnelian-1TZ always preferred the simple explanation.

“Hey, isn’t this sorta like that other desert planet we went to?” 1AX’s interpretation of Amethyst-6BB chimed in. "You know, the one with all the bugs?” BB was even more uncomfortable with silence than Jasper was.

“Oh geez, I really hope that’s not the case,” 1AX answered her imaginary teammate, dismally putting a hand over her face at the mere reminder of that place. “I do NOT want to deal with more giant sand-eating worms or gem-abrading sandstorms.” At least Bumblebee could fly over all this.

Finally, she came across the expeditions base camp and from atop her dune surveyed it. It was a small smattering of basic temporary structures and equipment. From her vantage point she noticed it looked very disorganized. No sign of any movement.

She slid down the dune, and when she got closer, saw that the camp had been completely ransacked. Machinery had been turned on its side and smashed to bits, surveying equipment was scattered everywhere, and the Sapphire’s pavilion had been torn apart. The ship was still there, but it was also busted up pretty badly, with a huge indentation on the top, like something heavy sat on it. On top of all that, they found that the communication array had been completely _flattened_.

“Well that explains the silence. Maybe a sandstorm did this?” she theorized to herself.

That would be the easiest conclusion. But the imaginary Commander Black in her mind immediately dismissed that idea. “ _Not a chance,_ “ she would say. “ _The damage isn’t consistent with sand abrasion and the debris isn’t scattered like it had had been blown away by the wind._ ”

“Sand doesn’t squash things either,” 1AX agreed with her absent commander. None of it explained why no one was here either. Surely someone would have tried to fix the communications array? At least the Nephrite would have stayed with the ship...

1AX let out a worried hum and looked around herself. There wasn’t any sign it had been a native wildlife attack. No teeth marks on anything, and the sand left no tracks. The winds had scoured away anything useful.

As if to confirm her thoughts, a gust of wind blew and sent handfuls of sand  into her eyes. The Jasper spat out a bit of wayward grains and growled in irritation. She did _not_ care for this entire situation.

Something caught her attention as the wind revealed an object glinting in the sand.

She went over and brushed some sand off the object. It was a gemstone, circular and yellow with a triangular cut on its face. She recognized the cut immediately. It was Yellow Diamond’s Sapphire! Jasper quickly snatched the prone gemstone from the sand.

Freed from its sandy prison, it almost immediately began to levitate into the air and glow, creating a mannequin-like outline of hard light before fully taking form.

Yellow Sapphire settled back to the ground heavily. Her regenerated form looked a little rushed for a Sapphire, lacking the usual ornamentation and precision; a simple ochre dress, sporting two spherical white shoulder pads and a cream colored top half with a Yellow Diamond symbol in the center. Her hair was a bit of a mess, fancy cream-colored bob frayed and disheveled. Overall she looked a little rough around the edges, but intact.

“Finally...you came,” she sighed in relief.

“My Clarity! Are you alright?” The Jasper asked, delicately helping the smaller Gem to her feet. Her gemstone was located in her left palm.

“I’m alive at least...”

Jasper looked around worriedly. The glow from the Sapphire’s regeneration could have attracted unwanted attention.

“My Clarity, I’m Jasper Facet-5A5V Cut-1AX, I was sent by Yellow Diamond to retrieve you and the others. Where’s the rest of the expedition?” she asked the aristocrat.

“Poofed, lost in the sand. They won’t be reforming anytime soon. I don’t know where they are. They could be anywhere right now.” The Sapphire shook her head.

“What _happened_ here?”

“The Rubies...turned on us.”

The Rubies? Schist, they had a mutiny on their hands.

“They rebelled. The first thing they did while fused was smash the communications array so we couldn’t call for help. Then they tried to take the ship. Nephrite and the Peridots started shooting. A fight broke out and... ” Yellow Sapphire shook her head as if to dispel the memory. “In the chaos the clumsy oafs managed to fall on the ship and ruin it,” she told her. “Right before my physical form was destroyed, I could see that Yellow Diamond would send a Gem to investigate our disappearance. So I estimated when you would arrive at the camp and timed my reformation accordingly.”

“ _Woah_ , so you knew I’d be the one sent here?” Jasper was of course familiar with the Sapphires’ capacity to see the future, but even so the precision of Sapphire’s vision was impressive.

“I knew someone would be. Unfortunately I couldn’t see much else. The one thing I could see was your arrival, but that’s it. To be honest, I was kind of hoping for a Topaz or a Citrine.”

“Oh.”

“Sorry, but the situation calls for far more muscle than you have.”

“I’m pretty sure I can handle a bunch of Rubies,” 1AX huffed putting a hand on her hip.

“Not their fusion you can’t.”

“Well, how many of them fused?” the Quartz asked. “Five? Six?”

“All of them.”

There had been seventeen Rubies on this expedition.

“ _Seventeen_? I’ve never seen a fusion that size before!”

The largest 1AX had been a part of was four. And that was against the Megarachnids. The largest ones she had ever _seen_ were the nine and ten-stacks used on Arcturus to break the siege. Even then, those had been an act of last resort, and they formed a Fusion of _seventeen_?

“I...I don’t think I can fight that,” Jasper admitted.

“I agree,” nodded the Sapphire. “You wouldn’t last long against them. We must leave immediately.”

“There’s a Gem Scanner on my ship. We could use it to locate the others.”

“There won’t be enough time. You’ll never find them before the Rubies come back. Your ship might have already drawn their attention.”

“Okay, my ship’s not far from here. We can get out of here and come back later with reinforcements. Can you see how long we have before the Rubies get here?”  
  
“Yes, of course, give me just a moment.” The Sapphire brought her hands to her head as she used her Future Vision to scan the future. “I see...wait. Oh no…run!”  
  
“What?”  
  
“RUN!”  
  
Jasper’s confused inquiry was cut off as the ground beneath them began to shake and rise. A giant red hand burst out of the ground and crashed down in front of them, then another one did the same behind, and together they began pulling up a even larger mass from the very ground Jasper and Sapphire were standing on.

The Giant Ruby slowly rose up to its full height, sand pouring off their towering form in cascades, and carrying the two Gems who had unwittingly been standing on its head higher and higher into the air.

1AX’s mind was reeling. They had been waiting under the sand. They had been waiting for them this whole time. They had never left, this had all been a trap!

Jasper grabbed Yellow Sapphire under her arm and leapt clear from their perch. She landed hard on her feet and looked back at the towering fusion as it shook the sand from its cubic head.

‘Giant’ was the most apt and literal description of them. They truly _were_ gigantic, bigger than a dropship. Their deep scarlet body was studded with more than a dozen ruby gemstones across their entire form; chest, head, eyes, nose, shoulders, knees, and hands. The Giant Ruby lumbered towards them, each step making loud thuds in the sand that kicked up dust and debris. They glowered down at the two with a hostile scowl, angry bejeweled eyes glittering dangerously in the desert sun.

Jasper drew out her destabilizer from her belt. Her spear would be next to useless here. One tiny destabilizer was all she had. Breaking up fusions and poofing Gems was the whole purpose of this device, but it wasn’t anywhere near big enough to handle something like this!

This was bad, they were way out in the open, very exposed, and COMPLETELY ill-equipped for this.

While she was distracted thinking about how cracked they all were, the Ruby raised a open palm skyward with the clear intent to swat them like bugs.

They both dodged, Jasper rolling aside and Sapphire zooming out of the way. The Quartz reflexively lept into a spin dash attack, retaliating against one of the Ruby's legs as a whirling wrecking ball of momentum. But it felt like crashing straight into a mountain and she bounced right off with no effect.

Yellow Sapphire immediately took off into the air to get away, but the Ruby spotted them trying to escape.

“There you are!” They reached out with an enormous hand to snatch them from the air.

Jasper saw the renegade fusion reach up for the Sapphire and with another spin dash knocks their hand away. This time the fusion at least winced and turned its attention on Jasper.

“Hey, you oversized boulder! Pick on someone your own size!” The Quartz pointed up at them.

The Ruby raised a massive fist.

“Uh oh.”

They brought it down at them with earthshaking force and sent a plume of sand high into the air.

“Yikes! I said your _own_ size not me!” Jasper shouted as she dodged, sand raining down on her. The Ruby wasn’t particularly fast, but the sheer size made their attacks hard to avoid. Their reach had Jasper at a major disadvantage. It was hard enough to get a hit in, much less _do_ any damage.

She looked down at her destabilizer. Small as it was, it may prove to be her only option. The Ruby fusion raised its fist for another earth shattering smash. Jasper waited until the very last second before dodging out of the way. Mere inches from the crushing blow, Jasper turned and jabbed the destabilizer at the clenched fist of the Ruby. The Ruby flinched backwards, like it had been bitten by an unusually annoying insect, but otherwise showed no sign of slowing down. _Crack me,_ thought Jasper.

Glaring down at small gem who’d stung them, the Ruby sucked in a deep breath and unleashed a torrent of flame from her mouth.

Jasper ducked and avoided the worst of it, but as she did, the fiery jet consumed the upper half of her destabilizer. She looked down at the smoldering burnt handle and tossed it aside. Guess that option was off the table.

Schist, what does she do? What does she do?!

“Jasper!” Yellow Sapphire called to her from above. “You can’t fight them. Run! Just run!”

The Ruby brought another fist down again, with Jasper just narrowly managing to dodge this time.

Shards, she was right. There was no way she could take them on by herself. They needed to get out of here and regroup. She had one more idea.

"Well," she said getting into a crouching position. "Here goes everything!"

Jasper launched herself into another spin dash, seemingly intent on charging the Ruby again. The Ruby braced themselves, preparing to swat them down. Jasper shot forwards towards the colossal fusion at breakneck speed. They were on a direct collision course, only for Jasper to suddenly change her trajectory _downwards_. Into the sand her whirling momentum span like a wheel and threw a veritable cloud of sand into the Ruby colossus’ face.

The Giant Ruby staggered backwards in surprise, momentarily blinded and swiping at empty air. While they were distracted, Jasper sped away, with Sapphire at the fore, leading the way.

"My ship is this way!"

"There's no time. We won't be able to take off before the Rubies catch up. We have to hide for now." Sapphire pointed towards the craggy cliffs rising out of the sand dunes, and the pair of them took off, hoping to find cover long enough to formulate a plan.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah, this was really fun to write, but also difficult. Homeworld just seems so empty and barren compared to how I depicted it. But, oh well, couldn't describe several pages of her walking in empty structures and scenery now could I?


End file.
